Brassiere



V. l. BECKER BRASSIERE March 28, 1950 Filed May 11, 1948 JNVENTOR. [flu/Yer Z/zld'or BY Patented Mar. 28, 1950 UNITED STATESPATENT OFFICE 2 Claims.

This invention relates to brassires, and more particularly to brassires adapted for wear While nursing babies, an example of such brassiere be ing shown in U. S. patent to Becker, No. 2,317,664 dated April 2'7, 1943.

One of the objects of the invention is to provide a brassiere in which support is afforded to the breasts by self-conforming and equalizing means serving to mold the breasts to desired contour yet without unduly constricting them, and in the provision of means by which a regulatable, yet somewhat'self-adjustable degree of uplifting support for the breasts is attained.

More particularly, the invention contemplates the provision of a brassiere having a body portion formed with substantially conical pockets terminating in breast openings, the material of the body portion surrounding said openings being disposed in overlapped arrangement below the openings and split or separated above the openings thereby resulting in openings of such a nature as to permit of exceptional distension and adjustment under breast pressure. The invention also resides in the provision of means, including a foldable front flap portion which can be lowered when required for access to the breast for nursing, and which is normally supported in its raised or covering position by suitable suspension means that is in turn, supported from the shoulder strap of the garment. The invention further contemplates the provision of means by which the suspension of the foldable front flap is attained to permit of equalizing pressure on the breast not only by the opening through which the breast projects, but by the front flap as well.

In the accompanying drawing, wherein an 11- lustrative embodiment of the invention is disclosed:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation of a brassiere constructed in accordance with the invention, show- 4 as, for example, the hook and eye arrangement disclosed in the aforementioned Becker Patent No. 2,317,664, or any other suitable means. At the front of the garment, the breast-receiving sections 1 and 2 are attached together by the centrally located inverted V-section I which may be of elastic webbing or a strong inelastic fabric if elasticity in this area is not desired. Each of the sections I and 2 is formed with a breast orifice 3, the edge thereof being suitably reinforced by the binding 25. It is to be noted that the material of the body of the garment in which the orifice is produced is overlapped below the orifice as indicated at In and l l, these overlapping portions being located between the orifice and the lower edge of the garment, and are free of attachment to one another adjacent to the orifice, but have their lower edges confined within the seam l2 extending along the lower edge of the garment. It is also to be observed that the upper portion of the orifice includes a split portion 4 resulting in the part of the body that is situated above the orifice being divided into the two parts 5 and 6.

The result of the construction thus far described is an arrangement by which the portions of the body located around and adjacent to each orifice will assume a cupped or frustro-conical formation, and since the material of these sections around the orifice is overlapped below the orifice and is split or divided into two sections above the orifice, expansion of the orifice under breast pressure, and without material change in the shape of the orifice is attained.

The sections l and 2 of the garment constitute, in the illustrative embodiment of the invention shown, inner sections, the same being normally covered by outer sections l3, each of said outer sections being cupped to conform to breast curvature. The upper portion of each of the sections I3 is in the form of a flap it, these flaps having their lower terminations located below the lower ends of the orifices 3 and having upper tapered end portions or terminals l5, each provided with a loop 16 which may be of elastic webbing.

Each of the parts 5 and 6 of the body of the garment is attached to the opposite ends l9 and 20 of a suspension strap l8 which is passed through the loop portion 26 of a hook fastener IT. The suspension strap I8 is passed through the loop portion 21 of a fastener member 2| attached in the known manner to one end of the shoulder strap 22 of the garment.

From the foregoing, the operation of the garment will be apparent. In normal position of wear the garment appears as seen at the left portion of Fig. 1, wherein it will be noted that the suspension strap is doubled over on itself through the loop member 2|, as indicated at 23, to enable the hook fastener I! at the end of the suspension strap l8 to be brought down over the front of the garment and into hooked engagement with the 3 loop Hi. It will thus be seen that with this arrangement, the shoulder strap 22 serves to support the inne section of the garment as well as the outer flap hi thereof. The pull exerted on the divergent portions [9 and 20 of the suspension strap It) serves to tend to draw these ends of the strap together and hence tends to bring the portions 5 and ii of the body toward one another, to bring the orifice 3 into close contact with the breast. At the same time a self -adjusti'ng support for the flap I4 is attained since the suspension strap [8 is slidable through loop 2'! to enable the flap portions 14 to adjust themselves with close, but comfortable, fit to bust contour.

Through the arrangement discl0sed,,distension of the breast orifices is readily obtained without distortion of the body of the garmentsince the combination of overlapping parts at the lower edge of the garment and separable parts at the top of the garment provides a wide latitude by which the orifices may be made substantially self:- shaping for breast accommodation. The cooperative" uplifting construction. is. such asto not only aid in shaping thebustorifices toproper fit, but to also provide an equalizing arrangement by which the uplift of the flapsm'ay be controlled to enable the garment to; be worn with both style and. comfort. For nursing purposes, it will be obvious that a detachment of the loopl5 from hook membe II will permit either of the flaps :1

1 4* to be lowered as indicated at the right of Fig. 1, whenever required.

Having. described one embodiment of the invention, it is obvious that the: same isnot to be restricted thereto but is broad enough to cover all structures coming within the scope of the annexed claims.

What I claim is:

1. In a brassire, a body formed with a breast orifice, a breast cup including a foldable upper flap part extending over and: covering the orifice, the material of the body behind said flap and above the orifice beingsplit or separated into two parts, a suspension strap having two ends respectively attached to the split or separated parts of the body above the orifice, a shoulder strap carrying a loop fastener at one end, the suspension strap being doubled upon itself and slidably extended downwardly through the loop fastener and brought down to detachably engage the upper end of the flap on the outside of the separated parts of the body, said doubled-over strap being slidable through the loop fastener and having means at its downwardly-extended end part for detachable engagement with the upper end of the flap to thereby hold said flap in raised position to cover the orifice.

2. In a brassiere, a body formed with a breast orifice, a breast c'up including a foldable upper flap part extending over and covering the orifice, the material of the body behind the flap and above the orifice being split into two parts, a shoulder strap carrying a loop fastener at one end, a suspension strap doubled upon itself and carrying a hook, the ends of said suspension strap being respectively attached to the split parts of the body, the suspension strap being folded over and extended downwardly through theloop fastener and having its hook detachably connected to the upper end of the flap, said suspension strap being slidable through the hook and being also slidable through the loop fastener;

VICTOR I. BECKER.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,175,676 Walters Oct. 10, 1939 2,346,411 Becker et al Apr. 11, 1944 2,386,530 Witkower Oct. 9, 1945 2,400,499 Gerace May 21, 1946 2,454,153" Glick Nov. 16, 1948 

